Skills

The position of attack requires the most stick skill of all positions, with the exception of the goalie. Attackmen should demonstrate good stick work with either hand and have quick feet to maneuver around the goal in heavy traffic. Effective attackmen have good peripheral vision, precision passes, and can effectively dodge, screen and shoot. The attack are always on the field as a scoring threat and, given an even match up, should score often. Typically the attack work behind the net, called the "X" area, and on the flanks of the crease, called the "wings". This gives the attackmen the most room to dodge and cut. Attackmen generally restrict their play to half of the field. They must work with the midfield to run an effective offense. An attackman should be quick, alert, confident in one-on-one situations and be able to withstand physical punishment by the opposing defensemen.

Some Rules:

The attack use dodging, picks (just like in basketball), and passing to generate a good shot. Similar to basketball, the object is to move the ball around until the defense breaks and someone is left with an open shot. One way to do this is by letting an attackman go one-on-one with a defender. The attackman tries to beat his defender by dodging, causing another defenseman to slide, creating an unbalanced situation in which he can either shoot or pass to someone else who is wide open. The attackman can move in any direction with any amount of force, as there are no charging rules. The attackman, however, like all players cannot clamp the ball in his stick with his thumb, chest, or helmet. He is also not allowed to push or hit the defenseman's stick with his arms or hands. This is called warding.

THE MIDFIELDER

The Position:

The midfielder is considered by many to be the backbone of the lacrosse team. Good midfielders need speed, stamina, hustle and determination. They are required to play both defense and offense. However, the middies are largely responsible for a key aspect of the game - transition. Transition is by far the most important part of the game and helped create the nickname, 'The Fastest Game on Two Feet'. It involves retrieving loose balls, or clearing saved shots and running and passing the ball up the length of the field. If a team can get the ball and have an extra man advantage on the offensive end of the field, even for a split second, they have a good opportunity to score. When this advantage occurs in transition it is called a fast break. A midfielder should be able to shift quickly from offense to defense. Midfielders do not have to be proficient scorers, but should be able to "read" what is about to happen next.

Some Rules:

Along the center of the field is the midfield line. It is this reference point that determines whether a team is offsides or not. The rules for offsides are simple: you must have 4 players on your defensive end at all times, and 3 players on your offensive end at all times. Since it doesn't matter which players stay on what side, it is up to the midfield to keep their team onsides, by staying on one side or the other. Since the position requires so much running, the midfielders often changes lines on the fly, as in hockey.

DEFENSE

The Position:

The defenseman’s responsibility is to defend the goal. Although size aids the defenseman, more importantly defensemen should be quick, agile and aggressive. Speed is always a valuable commodity, but the ability to act and react, to judiciously apply pressure and to recover are the key ingredients to an effective defenseman.

They must keep the attack at bay. Their job is to keep the ball away from the net so the opposing attack doesn't get a good look at the goal. The job is difficult: A defenseman doesn't know where the attack are going or what they are going to do. In his arsenal the defenseman has a long stick (14U and above). This stick allows a defender to keep the attackmen at a distance, thus allowing him to throw checks without being beaten on foot. Good footwork is an extremely important part of playing good defense ……to be able to apply pressure and be aggressive, without lunging a foot and body forward is key, otherwise the offensive player can then easily go around the overly aggressive defenseman. A defenseman must be able to think and react quickly, and most importantly communicate with his fellow defensemen.

Some Rules:

Defensemen are allowed to check the attackmen they are covering. What this means is a defenseman is allowed to use his stick to hit the attackman's stick and arms. A defenseman cannot strike the attackman on the head, and cannot strike the attackman's body with the stick with any significant force. This penalty is called a slash. Most slash penalties occur when a defenseman employs the use of a 'slap' check, which is when the stick is swung perpendicular to the attackman's shaft in a slapping motion. The other common check is the 'poke' check, in which the defenseman simply jabs straight on at an attackman's stick in a motion like that of a pool cue. When the attackman is close enough, a defenseman can use his body for defense. Body checking, or hitting, in lacrosse is very similar to that in hockey. A legal body check is any hit that is head to head (no hitting from behind). People who are legal targets are anyone standing within five yards of a loose ball, or anyone with possession of the ball. Hitting someone without the ball, while another player has possession is called interference.

THE GOALIE

The Position:

The position of goalie in lacrosse is probably one of the most intense positions of all sports. Essentially, you must play catch with people at a very high speed. Unfortunately for the goalie, most people don't throw at his stick. The goalie wears additional protective equipment: throat guard and chest protector. A goalie stick is typically of normal length, 40-50 inches, with an extra wide head. Unlike goalies in hockey, lacrosse goalies must be very mobile. They often come out of the circular crease that surrounds the 6’x6’ goal. Explosive speed and very quick hands are key ingredients in making a goalie, as well as a tolerance for pain. When a goalie comes out of the crease to fetch ground balls or to clear a saved shot, he becomes a target, much like the quarterback in football.

A good goalie leads the defense by reading the situation and directing the defensemen to react. A goalie also directs the clearing patterns and provides intangible cohesion that binds a team together. A good goalie should have excellent hand/eye coordination and a strong voice. Quickness, agility, confidence, a "thick skin" by not getting too down when scored on and the ability to concentrate are also essential.

Some Rules:

The goalie defends a square goal six feet wide by six feet high. Around the goal is a circular crease. The crease area is limited to entry by the goalie and defensive players only. Once the goalie makes a save he has 4 seconds to either pass the ball or run the ball out of the crease. In these four seconds no one may touch him. Once the goalie steps outside the crease he is no longer allowed back into the crease unless he yields possession of the ball.

GOALIE PLAY...click here
The following covers the FUNdamental technique of playing lacrosse goalie.
Essential to every team is a good goalie. A goalie needs to be a leader with very good knowledge of the game, its rules and understanding of the needs of the team. The following covers the FUNdamental technique of playing lacrosse goalie.

SHOOTING SKILLS #1

1. Find a friend and go to a goal somewhere

2. Get alot of lacrosse balls

3. Have your friend pass you the ball from 15 yards away

4. From 8-10 yards from the goal, Catch and shoot the ball as hard as you can at the ground so it bounces into the goal

5. Have your friend immediately pass you another one (move rapidly)

6. Catch and shoot the ball as hard as you can at the ground so it bounces into the goal.

7. Keep going 15-20 times. Gather the balls. Switch places with your friend and do it all over again.

8. Do this drill from several different angles to the goal. Try lefty and righty.

9. If you are missing the cage you can do 2 things; A: Adjust your shooting technique, or B: Adjust the stringing in your stick to work better.

10. If you take 100 shots each time you go out and you get out there a couple times a week, you will become a better shooter. Every team needs good shooters.

Gary Gait's follow-through. He is the best player ever in history. This is true. He uses traditional stringing.

See the right elbow in the second picture? He drives he right elbow back and upwards in an aggresive way. This help to give lots of power in the follow through which leads to a hard shot.

GENERATE POWER

Please look at his left hand. See how he grips the stick at an angle and with a loose grip. He does not have his five fingers wrapped around because this limit mobility and control. The fingertips are on the side of the stick.

Left handers step with the right foot...

Right handers step with the left foot...

SHOOTING SKILLS #2

A lacrosse father once asked me if I could tutor his son on shooting. I told him that if he wanted to shoot hard, he should grab a bag of balls and shoot until his arms fell off. "He does that," the father told me. "I just want to make sure that he isn't reinforcing a bad habit." No amount of hard work can help a player if his mechanics are poor. I now try to make myself available to my players as often as possible just to practice shooting. Hard work is great, but hard and efficient work is even better.

While the mechanics of shooting are technical, I have simplified them into six major points. Shooting a lacrosse ball has elements of a batter's swing, a golfer's drive and a pitcher's throwing motion. I hope you find these helpful.

1: Shoot Overhand

I recently watched a group of middle school boys playing lacrosse. Every player shot sidearm and every shot went wide of the cage. When a player shoots sidearm, especially in tight, the elbow stays close to the ribs and the ball carries across the face of the cage. I witnessed this mistake 30 times in a single half.

When a player shoots sidearm, he holds onto the ball longer. One reason is that players keep their pockets as deep as possible. Another factor is that players keep their elbows in and push the ball rather than shoot it. As a result, a right-handed shooter has difficulty finding the right side of the cage. The sidearm shooter pulls the ball and his trajectory is wide left. This simplifies the goaltender's job. He can guess where the shot is going. Furthermore, this is usually his strong side.

Coaches must practice eternal vigilance in the war against sidearm shooting. Unfortunately, the sidearm motion is natural. Kids want to shoot sidearm, especially when fatigued. Coaches need to construct drills where players practice shooting overhand. They need to immediately correct players who shoot sidearm so that they recognize when they are dropping the head of their sticks. The goal is to create an aesthetic appreciation of overhand shooting. Players should not only feel uncomfortable shooting sidearm; they should dislike the sight of it.

2: Hide the Head of the Stick

Watch an efficient shooter. When he winds up, he exposes his back to the cage and holds the stick head behind his ear. I call this "hiding the head of the stick." I assumed the reason was to make the goaltender's job difficult. A good goalie will try to find the ball as soon as possible. If he can see the head of the stick, he need only follow the ball as it comes out. On the other hand, if the head of the stick is hidden, the goalie cannot find the ball until the last instant before it is released. This makes the save difficult.

Think of the upper body as a spring. When the shooter winds up, he wants to twist the spring. He rotates his hips along his central axis as far as possible. When he has maximum rotation, his back will actually be exposed to the target.

A good shooter does this when he hides the head of his stick. He is twisting his body so that he has maximum recoil in his hips and lower back. A baseball pitcher uses the same motion in his wind-up when he exposes his back to the batter.

For the uninitiated, proper shooting will lead to a sore lower back. These muscles need to be stretched and strengthened to assist in the shooting motion. A shooter should stand with his feet perpendicular to the target. He should wind up in a sidearm motion until his back is facing the target. He should stand erect. His chest will be expanded and his jersey number should be readily visible to anyone standing behind him. From the point of maximum rotation, he should shoot overhand and let his hips and back naturally unwind.

Hiding the head of the stick has two advantages. First, it incorporates the strong muscles of the lower back and hips. Second, it makes it hard on the goaltender trying to find the ball. A proper motion will not only add velocity, it will also make the shooter more efficient.

3: Extend Your Arms

Another sports analogy will make this point clear. What golf club hits the ball the furthest? The driver. The drivers are different from the other clubs in that they are the longest. The longer the club, the longer the shot. This is simple physics. Lacrosse players should be familiar with this principle. Taller players are generally harder shooters than shorter players. Why? They have longer arms. You can also see this when a defenseman shoots with his long pole. If he follows the same motion and is strong enough to wield the big stick, his shot will be harder than a short stick's. We want to maximize the distance from the fulcrum ( the shoulders) to the head of the stick.

The shooter should extend his arms as far as possible. The arms extend until the elbows are no longer bent. This is easier said than done. The problem is that young players want to hug the front elbow tight to the ribs. This is why so many players naturally shoot sidearm.

Here is a good drill to teach players to extend their arms: A player stands with his back to a wall. With his feet perpendicular to the target, he should shuffle forward keeping the stick head against the wall. When he cannot keep contact and the stick finally moves away from the wall, he should shoot.

When he practices shooting, he should imagine himself coming off the wall.

Young players sometimes drop the ball in this position. When they extend their arms, the ball falls out the back. There are two quick remedies to this problem. First, the player should keep his back hand above his front hand. This is true of throwing and shooting. A player who keeps the butt end of the stick above the head will catapult the ball rather than snap his wrists. The player should also learn that a few small cradles with the top hand adequately keep the ball in the pocket.

4: Exchange Weight

Proper shooting requires a player to sell out with his entire body. As a player prepares to shoot the ball, all of his weight rests over his back foot. His stick and arms reach behind him. His torso twists and his chest and shoulders are behind his back leg. Some players even lift their heads to exaggerate the motion. In fact, the only body part not over or behind the back leg is the front leg.

As a player shoots, he whips his elbow over the top. His stick and arms follow an arc directly over his head. His shoulders and chest rotate until they are facing the target. His hips and back recoil and urge the motion forward. He plants his back foot and every part of his body goes toward the target. A player who tossed his head back throws it forward until his chin rests on his chest. After a shot, a shooter's weight is redistributed so hard and so fast that his back foot comes off the ground. If a player has truly sold out, he will probably need to step forward to catch himself as he falls.

Watch a hard shot in slow motion. You will see each and every part of the above in minute detail. Every part of the body contributes to the shooting motion. If you drew a dotted line down the middle of a player's body, every part but the front leg would fall behind the line in the wind-up and in front of it in the follow through. When a player is policing his own motion, he should remember this: Everything behind my back leg before, everything in front of my front leg after. Remember, the entire body should move with the ball toward the cage.

5: Lift the Front Elbow

Although the entire body is involved in the act of shooting, the lead elbow is the most important element. Players want to dig that elbow in. The result is a pushing motion. The player simply twists and untwists and the shot is a little flick. The strength from the hips and arms is removed from the equation. To prevent this, keep that front elbow high.

The front elbow comes into the shooting motion at three separate points. During the wind-up the player extends his front elbow. While shooting, the elbow leads the hands and arms over the top. Finally, in the follow-through, the elbow guides the body toward its target. We have already discussed players' reluctance to extend the front arm as part of the wind-up. The lead arm should have as little bend as possible when the arms are extended.

As the player actually shoots, he brings his elbow over the top. This can be tricky. The wind-up is a sidearm motion but the stick does not come forward along the same path. We want the shaft to come straight overhand. The front elbow leads the shot by pulling forward. A player's elbow should bend as he pulls it upwards toward his target. A terrific analogy is to think of the bend in the elbow as the crosshairs of a rifle. For a moment, the player sights up the cage using his front elbow. He should be able to see the cage over the "V" of his bent arm. A straight line is formed between the shooter's eyes, his elbow and the goal. This technique is awesome. First, it keeps the front elbow high. This is important because the shooter will need to throw it down as he shoots. Second, this will add accuracy, as the target is clear in the player's mind. Finally, it guarantees a straight overhand motion. Players can still shoot sidearm with the elbow high, but it is awkward. Typically, the worst a player can manage is a three-quarters motion.

The elbow leads the body toward the target. The player should whip the elbow down toward the goal. The elbow throw starts the recoil of the hips. It brings the arms and shaft forward. By throwing the elbow, the shooting motion does not rely on the arms. The shoulders and lat muscles jerk the elbow forward toward the target and bring the arms with them. The elbow throw jump-starts the motion of the arms. Do not throw the elbow without regard to direction. The body's torque can pull the elbow across the torso. The elbow is the crosshairs. Once a player has the shot lined up, he should pull his elbow straight down. Exaggerate the overhand motion.

6: Snap the Wrists

A player can master the shooting motion in a few days, but the snap of his wrists can always get better. The nature of the overhand shooting motion necessitates holding the stick, arms extended, high over one's head. Ideally, a player wants to shoot down at the goal. From the stick's high position, with the body moving forward, the ball wants to travel over the goal. By snapping the wrist, a shooter brings the path of the ball downward and gives it one last push before it is released.

First, a player should have a proper grip. The shaft should not be grasped in closed fists. If the fists are clenched and the shaft rests against the palm, the player can only push the ball. A player wants to grasp the stick with his thumbs running up the shaft. This allows the shaft to follow the motion of the wrist. Players can practice snapping their wrists in any number of ways. They can grasp the stick properly and hit the wall one-handed. They can toss the ball up in the air using a short, crisp wrist snap. Instead of line drills, let your players spend five minutes tossing a ball in the air. Once your players master the shooting motion, they should be encouraged to perform wrist curls in the weight room.

The players should next understand from where the ball is released. Often players do not realize that they are shooting down at the goal. The ball is just leaving the stick when it is high overhead. A great drill invented by Maryland head coach Dave Cottle has players shooting over one goal into a goal behind. Players have a hard time when they first try the drill. They see the goal between themselves and their target and they think the shot is impossible. Soon, however, they grasp the concept that the head of the stick is not where their eyes are. From the height of its release, the ball will easily clear the front goal. The challenge then becomes getting it into the back goal. The only way that they can get the ball to come down is by snapping their wrists. This final piece, the wrist snap, will add velocity to the shot. The difference between a good shooter and a great shooter is the wrist snap.

Players should practice this motion frequently. The problem with shooting is that young players want to stand still and crank the ball. This may be good for a player just learning the motion, but it is unrealistic. A good initial strategy quickly becomes a bad habit. Players should shoot on the run. They should shoot with both hands. They should take short-side drives and sweeps. They should shoot out of dodges. It takes months to learn to extend your arms with the stick in your off-hand. A great conditioner is to shoot 10 left-handed drives, collect the balls and shoot 10 right-handed drives. A player who drills hard and runs full speed will have no need for wind sprints. Finally, a player should work on time-and-space shooting with a partner. He should catch a feed with his stick by his ear and bring himself into shooting position as quickly as possible. Again, this can be very difficult with the off-hand.

Once a player has mastered the motion, the best assessment is the shot itself. If a player misses the cage, I ask him what he did wrong. If the ball sails wide of the cage, he probably pulled his elbow across his body or dropped the stick sidearm. If the ball sails over the cage, he needs to snap his wrists. If the ball goes straight down or bounces short of the mark, he needs to extend his arms. A player can make his own corrections during the course of a drill. Of course, the best measure of good shooting is goals scored.

Finishing: Fundamentals, Fakes and Flair with Tom Marechek

Photo: James Schaffer

By Tom Marechek
As Told To Mike Keegan

The Quarter-Turn FakeTo me, this is the only fake worth doing, for a lot of reasons.

First of all, it lets you keep your stick in close to your ear. You rarely have a lot of time and space to throw fakes, so letting the stick get too far from your head is a good way to get checked from behind. In fact, this is the first thing a defenseman looks for when he’s been beaten—a careless attackman who hangs his stick. Second, since it’s such a small, quick movement, you are always in a position to shoot. I often see shooters make big fakes, using their bottom hand to turn the head of their stick out and away from their heads. To take a shot after throwing that fake, you need to pull the stick back into shooting position. This takes time, and by the time you’ve recovered from your fake, so has the goalie. With a simple quarter-turn fake, by the time the goalie recovers, the ball will be in the back of the net.

It’s actually a pretty simple move. Using my top hand (for me it’s my right hand), which is about halfway down the shaft in good position to shoot, I simply roll my fingers and wrist in a quick, snapping motion. The head of the stick turns in toward my face. At the same time, I give a short, quick snap with my right elbow and shoulder which moves the stick forward just a couple of inches. As I do all of this, I let the bottom of the shaft twist in my left hand. I use a very light grip with my left hand; it barely moves at all.

I’m a firm believer that high-to-low is, and always has been, the best shot in lacrosse. So after a good quarter-turn fake at the top portion of the goal, snap your wrists and elbows and fire the ball into the bottom corner. A little push-pull motion can generate a lot of speed. Push with your top hand and elbow, and pull with your bottom hand. It’s not necessary to get your shoulders and hips into it. From close range, you don’t need to shoot hard, especially if you’ve thrown a good fake.

Body Language
This is every bit as important as keeping your stick in tight. Growing up in Canada shooting on 4-by-4 goals, stick fakes alone weren’t enough to get the goalie out of position. You had to use deceptive body language. Outdoors on 6-by-6 goals, it makes a big difference too. By instinct, goalies tend to match the shooter’s body language; they follow the head of a shooter’s stick with their own stick. So you want your body language and stick position to lead the goalie where the shot is not going to go. Sounds simple enough, but shooters have instincts and tendencies too, and unfortunately sometimes they tend to look and lean where they’re going to shoot.

So, practice the art of deception. Whenever you work on shooting—which should be often—look high, stand tall and shoot overhand or three-quarters when you shoot low. Dip your shoulder and look low when you shoot high. It’s uncomfortable at first, but with practice you’ll get used to it. And once you use it in a game, you’ll love it.

You can see here that when I’m throwing the quarter-turn fake and shooting to the low corner, I keep my head and shoulders high. I almost exaggerate how tall I’m standing and I try to hold that even after I release the shot. If you stand tall and shoot low to the corners, even Greg Cattrano will have a tough time stopping it.

The same goes for shots from farther out when you have time and room. If I want to bury one high, I dip my head and shoulders low. Most goalies will bend their knees and drop their hands and shoulder when I do this. I’ll release a sidearm shot, which makes the goalie drop his stick as well. By the time the goalie realizes the shot’s going high, it’s too late. This is especially important for shooters who lack velocity on their shots. You can make up for that with deception. I can put some heat on a shot when I need to, but good body language is more important.

I remember one shot from last season with the Bayhawks. I had an open shot with time and room against Rochester’s Tillman Johnson. I stood tall and threw a couple of head fakes high. I knew he was frozen high, so I released a low shot that scored even though it was only about 40 MPH. I almost felt bad. But it shows how much of a difference good body language makes.

The Shuffle Step
I didn’t even realize I was doing this until people pointed it out to me recently: When going 1-on-1 with a goalie, I take a big shuffle step to the right across the front of the goal and then drag my left foot.

Now that I realize I’ve been doing it, I’m glad. And I’m sure other good shooters do it too. Whenever you’re going 1-on-1 with the goalie you have to keep moving your feet and come across the goal. This gets the goalie to come off the near pipe and move across the mouth of the goal, which gives you more shooting options.

By taking normal, straight-forward steps across the crease, your legs and hips are pointed at the sideline. You need to turn your chest and shoulders toward the goal to shoot. The shuffle step allows you to square your entire body to the goal. You’ll be in a more comfortable position to shoot, which should improve your accuracy.

Another advantage to a big sideways step is that it forces the goalie to move quickly. Taking a few normal steps across the crease will make the goalie follow you, but he’ll do it in small steps. When you lunge across the front of the goal, the goalie has to do the same. Once his momentum is moving in one direction, it’s tough for him to make a save in the other direction. Still another advantage is that it turns your back to most of the defenders. Outside of the cross-crease defender, anyone who hits you will be called for a push from behind.

If All Else Fails…
If the quarter-turn fake and some deceptive body language aren’t enough to beat a hot goalie, then by all means congratulate him after the game. But before you give up and start throwing the extra pass instead of shooting, try these shots. Very few goalies can anticipate these.

Behind the Back
For beginners and more conservative players, this is a trick shot. But for a lot of us in MLL, it’s not much more difficult than a regular overhand shot. With practice, you can become prolific with it as well.

First of all, I’d like to say that calling it a “behind the back” is a little misleading. To actually shoot behind your back, you’d have to wrap the stick around your body, almost sidearm. This makes it difficult to extend your arms and get any velocity or accuracy with your shot. A more appropriate name for it would be “behind the neck.” You can see in the photos that when I complete this shot, my top hand and stick are right behind my neck. To get good power on the shot, begin with your left hand at the bottom of the shaft, and your right hand halfway up with the stick parallel to the ground. Extend your right arm out to the side, then use that push-pull motion I talked about before. Pull with your right hand so your right arm goes from being almost straight to completely bent with your hand behind your neck. At the same time, push with your left hand so your stick ends up parallel to the ground again. You’ll have to turn your shoulders a little to do this, so your back should end up facing the target. It almost feels like a golf backswing.

I normally like to use this when the goalie has done a good job cutting off my shooting angle. Reaching back around my head is quicker than switching hands and still gives me a better angle. And, of course, sometimes I do it just for fun.

Photo: James Schaffer

Between the LegsSpeaking of shots to do just for fun, this between-the-legs shot is about as good as it gets. I’m not sure Trevor Tierney appreciates it that much, since I put one past him in the MLL Semifinals in 2003. And I don’t think many high school coaches will like it much either if all of their attackmen start trying it in games. But in your backyard or before or after practice are good times to experiment. That’s how I started it—just messing around. Then I got comfortable enough doing it so when the opportunity arose in a game, I took the shot. With time you can learn to shoot it high or low, and I once clocked mine at 57 miles an hour. So it’s possible to put some good heat on it. First of all, you need to have some decent whip in your stick. If you’re an attackman that likes to carry the ball with the pocket in the bottom of the head, this shot is going to be very tough. You really need to be able to lock the ball right under the shooting strings. I generally take this shot as I run across the goal from the goalie’s left to right. With your left hand at the bottom of the stick and your right hand about halfway down the shaft, start twisting the stick with your left hand so the head rotates from your right to left. Your right hand just lets the shaft twist. As you’re doing this, lift your right leg slightly to give yourself room to shoot. Quickly give your stick a good push-pull motion again, pulling down with your right hand and pushing out slightly with your left. You can see in the pictures that my left hand finishes close to my belly button and my right hand is directly below it. I actually hit myself in the leg with my stick sometimes when I do this, especially when I’m trying to shoot it hard.

This sounds like a lot to think about, but it really is all one motion. With a little effort, you’ll get it down, and then you can show off to all your friends. But keep in mind, I do it in games because I’m a professional and I want to entertain the fans.

There is no good time for you to try it in a game. If the game is close and you pass up a sure goal to try it, then you deserve to be benched. If you’re winning by a lot and you try it, then that’s terrible sportsmanship. If you’re losing by a bunch and you try it, then you aren’t taking the game seriously.

So again, keep the crazy stuff for your backyard, and maybe summer league. For your real games, stick to the quarter-turn fake and some deceptive body language. Your teammates and your goal totals will thank you.